How Portion Control Can Save You Money

One serving of dairy is about four small pieces of cheese. Via Shutterstock

I’m taking on a challenge this week to eat on $1.50 a day. As I planned my meals, I realized my serving sizes needed to shrink to help me stay on budget. Yours may too!

Live Below the Line created the $1.50 a day challenge to shed light on poverty, but it has opened my eyes to how much food I usually put on my plate. I’m now using smaller plates and kiddie bowls for portion control. Do you overeat? Your health, waist, and pocketbook may be taking a hit!

Here are some tricks to estimate serving sizes and save money.

Find the recommended servings for you based on your sex, age, and level of physical activity at ChooseMyPlate.gov.

1. Meat – One serving of cooked meat (about 3 ounces) is equivalent to a bar of soap or a deck of cards. Slice meat length wise to stretch throughout the week, and cut it into bite sizes to make it seem like you have more meat than you do.

2. Hamburger Patty – If you’re in the mood for a burger, use a hockey puck to estimate the size of a ground hamburger patty and skip seconds.

3. Pasta – A serving of cooked pasta (about 1/2 cup) should match the size of your fist. Darn, I have tiny hands and love pasta!

4. Bread – One serving of grains equals a piece of bread, a waffle, or a pancake. A standard CD case is an appropriate size for bread, waffles and pancakes. The current recommendation for adults is for 6-8 servings of grains per day.

5. Fish – A 3-ounce serving of fish is approximately the same size as a checkbook!

6. Oil – Have no measuring spoons around? Use the tip of your thumb as a guide to approximate a teaspoon of a single serving of fats and oil.

7. Cheese – One serving of dairy is about four small pieces of cheese. When you’re slicing up cubes, keep in mind the size and shape of four dice.

8. Fruit – A tennis ball is equal to one serving size of whole fruit.

9. Veggies – A single serving of veggies (1 cup), such as broccoli or carrots, should be proportional to a baseball.

10. Peanut Butter – No more eating peanut butter out of the jar! A ping pong ball equals a serving of peanut butter (about two tablespoons)!

Portioning food not only helps stretch food, it can reduce food waste, and even help you lose weight. Eat on the cheap with these 17 food bargains that are healthy too.

@The Frugal Exerciser I kinda blew it already. My birthday was yesterday so I got all kinds of goodies from friends and family. Technically, I haven’t gone over my budget since I didn’t pay for anything. I did start the day on track, but by midday I was stuffing my face with cake. I’m back on track today. I’m doing it for UNICEF.

I’m did a bean stew. Navy beans, 1/2 cup of black beans, can of diced tomatoes(with spices), 1 onion, 1 carrot. I cooked that for 1 1/2 hours then added my turkey hotdogs. That’s it LOL. IT’S MY LAST DAY! I started Sunday because I’m going to a luncheon tomorrow. Oh, my charity is the Isis Foundation. Yasmin, I will donate to your charity.

Because I’m using portion control as part of my ongoing weight loss regimen, I know I’m already spending less on food. I love all kinds of cheese, but not the fat content. I buy BabyBel light single portion bags for a mid-afternoon snack with one or two rice crackers, along with water infused with fresh lemon juice. Because starches are my biggest weakness, I now make sandwiches with one slice of sourdough cracked wheat bread (San Luis Obispo Bakery), usually with oven roasted turkey breast or lettuce and tomato. No mayo!!! I could add more, but you get the idea. I try to restrict starch intake to daytime, and have just a protein and a veggie for supper. So far, it’s been working for me.

@EllieD Wow, what an amazingly healthy diet you have! Did you cut out sugars? I eat a lot of fruit and crave sweets, but I’ve heard that once you removed refined sugar entirely, you feel a lot better. I don’t know if I could do it. I get so much pleasure out of brownies, chocolate chip cookies, fresh homemade ice cream…and on and on. Both my parents have sweet tooths, so I blame them!